Introduction to Phonetics

CHAPTER-1

 AN INTRODUCTION TO PHONETICS

Introduction        

0101.        The term ‘Phonetics’ derives from the word ‘phone’ which means an intelligible sound. A symbol that represents a phone or sound is generally called a ‘phoneme’. Phonemes represent the basic sounds of a particular language. From phone we get ‘phonetic’ which is an adjective. The term ‘Phonetics’ denotes to a subject which may be briefly defined as a science that deals with speech sounds represented by phonemes. It encompasses mainly two aspects of pronunciation—one, elementary or segmental dealing with vowels, consonants and diphthongs, and the other –prosodic, dealing with intonation and accentuation.

0102.        Homophones.         The following homophones from ‘Headway’ (to enable students to listen to) will not only prove interesting but act as an eye-opener as well.

When the English tongue we speak

Why is break not rhymed with Weak

Won’t you tell me why it’s true?

We say sew, but also few

And the maker of a verse

Cannot rhyme horse with worse

Beard is not same as heard

Cord is difficult from word;

Cow is cow, low is low.

Shoe is never rhymed with foe,

Think of hose and does and lose.

And think goose and yet of chose.

Think of comb and tomb and bomb,

Doll and roll and home and some.

And since pay is rhymed with say.

Why not paid with said I pray?

Think of blood and food and good,

Mould is not pronounced like could.

Why is done, but gone and lone

Is there any reason known?

To sum up, it seems to me

That sounds and letter don’t agree.

Note: Homophones play an interesting and subtle variety that exists between English words and their pronunciation.

0103.        Purpose of Learning Phonetics.        These are as follows: